Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth foot-stomped the Pentagon's push for acquisition speed and contractor accountability in a Jan. 12 speech at Lockheed Martin’s production hub in Fort Worth, Texas—the heart of the department’s biggest acquisition program, the F-35.
Lockheed Martin Fort Worth
The Air Force pieced together two damaged F-35s into one stealth fighter, dubbed 'Franken-bird.' The jet took its initial flight and is set to be combat-ready by March.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall clearly regrets that the service isn’t pursuing an advanced technology engine for the F-35.